Habits to add to your daily routine.
Creating a daily routine with consistent habits can increase your productivity, decrease stress and help you reach your goals. Creating habits that align with your goals, and doing them every single day will help you make the things on your visionboard a reality.
I’ve been listening to Roxie Nafousi’s audiobook ‘Manifest’ recently and she talks about the importance of aligning your behaviour with the things you are trying to manifest. She explains that creating healthy habits are the foundation of self-development and that true and lasting change is really created in the small changes that you make day to day.
To decide what daily habits you want to add to your routine, you should visualise your future self, who has achieved the goals you want to achieve, and visualise what you are doing every day. If you add those habits to your daily routine, you can slowly but surely create the life you want.
This will look different to everyone, but there are a few healthy habits that most people can add to their routine to increase productivity, decrease stress and increase the opportunities we have to practice self-care, all of which are conducive to achieving your goals. These are 5 habits, some wellness-related, some work-related, that I’ve added to my daily routine, and it has made a huge difference.
Start your work day with a to-do list.
Taking 15 minutes at the beginning of your work day to make a to-do list will keep you on track & focused throughout the day, increasing your productivity. You can’t always get everything on your to-do list done in the one work day, sometimes last minute tasks come up that have to take priority, or tasks take a bit longer than you expected. You shouldn’t put pressure on completing your to-do list every single day, it defeats the purpose. To-do lists are there to keep you focused and to be a place where you can write down all of your tasks, therefore freeing up your mind to focus solely on the one in front of you. When making your to-do list, you should identify 3 priorities that you want to get done that day. This smaller list within your to-do list is much less daunting & allows you to streamline your work day.
Switch off technology an hour before bed.
Working in content creation & marketing, my job revolves around technology. My phone is my job & my screen time report is honestly scary. While I absolutely love social media & consuming and creating content, I know that it isn’t good for me all the time. I find that switching off all technology an hour before I go to bed and taking the time to read or journal both improves my sleeping pattern & gives my brain a chance to wind down after a long day of technology.
30 minutes of movement.
This is probably the habit I have noticed the biggest difference from since adding it to my daily routine. A few months ago, I started making it a priority to get in some sort of movement or exercise every single day. That can be anything from a workout class to a walk to stretching. Doing some form of exercise every day allows us to switch off and focus solely on the movement, as opposed to the endless to-do lists and tasks we usually have on our minds from working full-time or running a business. It improves both your physical & mental health significantly and is a great form of self-care.
Take time to learn.
Taking time every day to learn something new is a practice everyone should add to their daily routine. This can apply to both work & self-development. Business-wise, taking a few minutes out of every day to do some research into possible changes and trends in your industry is essential. Personally, working in marketing, there are constantly industry changes and new trends and algorithms to keep on top of. Taking the time to stay on top of these changes will create much better results for your business. Taking time to learn about things that peak your interest is also worth a few minutes out of every day. Whether it’s psychology, fashion, history or something else, it is always good to learn new things and become more knowledgable on topics you enjoy. This also applies to current world events or injustices. Educating yourself is the first step to helping & it is so important to stay informed on what’s happening in the world, and the ways you can help.
Wake up an hour earlier than usual.
There is nothing worse than rushing in the morning getting ready for work, it fills the start of your day with stress, which then spills into the rest of your day. If you are constantly rushing in the morning, or feel like you barely have time to wake up before you go to work, this is a habit you need to add to your daily routine. If you usually get up at 7.30am, try waking up at 6.30am for a month and see the difference it makes. It gives you time to add some self-care practices to your morning routine, time to make and enjoy a delicious breakfast & time to fully wake up before starting your work day stress-free. This is a small change that will change your day-today in a really positive way.
